Northern Illinois Football

Illinois running back Mikel Leshoure ran for 180 of Illinois’ 319 rushing yards and one touchdown, leading the Fighting Illini past the Northern Illinois Huskies 28-22 on Saturday.

Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase also ran for 115 yards and one touchdown, combining with Leshoure to account for 295 of the team’s 319 rushing yards and two of the team’s three rushing touchdowns.

The junior is living up to the hype he received in the offseason, showing potential to become one of the best running backs in the Big Ten.

Northern Illinois, led by quarterback Chandler Harnish’s 117 rushing yards and 208 passing yards, fell to 1-2 on the season after the loss.

The Illini opened the scoring when Scheelhaase leaped into the end zone during a rushing attempt, putting the Illini ahead early in the first quarter.

The Huskies stormed back scoring 12 unanswered points, having one PAT blocked and missing the other. This was also the last time the Huskies led on Saturday.

The Illini responded, with a field goal from kicker Derek Dimke and a touchdown by running back Jason Ford followed by a two-point conversion from Scheelhaase, to take an 18-12 lead into halftime.

The crowd was silenced in the third quarter when sophomore guard Hugh Thornton lay motionless on the field after taking a helmet to the back of his neck.

The 6'5" Thornton had to be carted off the field and taken to the hospital.  It was reported after the game that all tests came back negative and he was able to move his extremities.

The Illini defense, despite giving up 390 yards of offense, stepped up and made stops when they needed them.

Ron Zook put his job on the line, going for a 4th-and-1 at the Ilini's own 46, after a Huskies' touchdown cut Illinois lead by two, 21-19.

Leshoure not only converted the fourth down, but also capped off the drive with a touchdown run to put Illinois ahead late in the fourth quarter.

Northern Illinois kicked a field goal to make it a one score game, but the Illini defense held strong and stopped the Huskies' final drive, giving Illinois the victory.

Don’t believe it for one second.

Northern Illinois tailbacks Justin Anderson and Ricky Crider will not be a major part of the Huskies’ game plan in the International Bowl. In this week’s press conference NIU head coach Jerry Kill hinted both backs might have a role in the team’s bowl game.

"To be honest with you Me’co [Brown] won't be healthy I don't think. I think that Chad [Spann] is a kid that’s fought through some things and it's important for him,” said Kill of his starting two tail backs. “With Justin Anderson and Ricky Crider, we've got some depth there.”

Although Kill has depth at the running back position, and has dealt with injuries at this spot during the regular season, he refuses to break away from Spann or Brown.

Anderson has 21 carries, most coming in garbage time against teams like Eastern Michigan and Western Illinois, this year. Remember, this is the running back that in his sophomore season carried the ball 274 times for 1,245 yards and eight touchdowns.

Crider has fared even worse. The junior has only 10 carries this season, with eight of those coming in garbage time against Eastern Michigan. Last year Crider carried the ball 43 times for 208 yards. In 2009 he has only 37 yards.

But the limited role of these players during the regular season does not prove Kill will not use them in the Huskies’ 13th game of the season. What does, however, is how Kill spoke before NIU’s contest against Ohio, as it matches exactly what he said this week.

In that November press conference Kill admitted Brown was suffering from an ankle injury, which had bothered him for the past few weeks.

“Me’co has got an ankle situation,” said Kill in his Tuesday press conference before the Ohio game. “He practiced on Sunday but limped noticeably. So that’s a concern.”

The coach also admitted the team’s MVP, tailback Chad Spann, was suffering from a shoulder injury.

“Chad will not practice today and he’s a question mark for Saturday,” said Kill in the same press conference. “I do think he has an opportunity to play. We’ll just have to see.”

With these injuries the coach pointed to Anderson and Crider as possible replacements.

“But we still have Ricky Crider, Justin Anderson, who have minutes, so we’re not going to sit around and be worried about what we cannot control,” said Kill in that November press conference. “We’ll start the next one and play.”

Despite these comments, Anderson and Crider did not touch the ball once again Ohio. Instead Spann carried the ball 12 times and Brown ran with the ball for 11 times. Spann picked up 32 yards. Brown didn’t do much worse, rushing for only 16 yards.

Kill had two healthy backs on the bench, but decided to use two injured players against one of the largest defensive lines in the MAC. The result: 23 carries for 48 yards—an average of 2.1 yards per carry.

Thus, while Kill may say he’s willing to go down the depth chart at the running back position, don’t be fooled. The coach will use either Spann or Brown. In all honesty, NIU’s mobile quarterback DeMarcus Grady will see more rushing attempts than Crider or Anderson.

The implications of not using two running backs in Kill’s system

The Huskies have relied on a two back attack throughout most of the 2009 season.

In only five games this season NIU has let one tailback accumulate 60 percent or more of the rushing attempts by a tailback.

In those games the Huskies were 2-3. These losses were against Central Michigan, Idaho and Toledo. Those teams have a combined record of 23-14.

The two teams NIU beat in this manner, Akron and Miami (Ohio), have a combined record of 4-20.

On the other side, NIU is 5-2 when it has kept a tailback for accounting for 60 percent or more of the rushes by running back.

NIU’s losses when spreading the load came against Ohio and Wisconsin. These teams have a combined record of 18-7.

The Huskies victories, when using multiple backs, were against Purdue, Western Michigan, Ball State, Western Illinois and Eastern Michigan. These teams have a combined record of 13-46.

While the records seem to negate how NIU won, it is still important to recognize that the Huskies have won a majority of their games by spreading the running back carries.

NIU tailback Me’co Brown, however, can no longer fit into this game plan.

The sophomore dropped off at the end of the year due to an ankle injury. In the Huskies’ final six games Brown accumulated 86 yards on 48 carries; an average of 1.8 yards per carry. The sophomore didn’t even play in NIU’s last game of the season against Central Michigan.

Furthermore, Kill said in his press conference this week that Brown “will not be healthy,” for the game. The coach, therefore, has put his faith in the return of Spann for the Huskies’ bowl game.

"I think it's real important for Chad [Spann] to continue where he's left off,” Kill said. “We definitely need [Spann] at full tilt."

But even if Spann 100 percent healthy, Kill will most likely need to use Anderson or Crider to be successful, at least according to his style of play.

Thus, the question facing Kill is, will he finally use the depth at the running back position that he has talked so much about this season, or will he continue to refuse to put Anderson and Crider on the field?

Don't blame Northern Illinois, blame the bowl system.

The Huskies made the right call to accept their fourth bowl in six years.

But the system that has put NIU into the postseason, is a failure. Simply put, this football team does not belong in a bowl game, but don't blame NIU, blame the system.

NIU’s opponents this year went 58-87; a winning percentage of 40 percent. But the Huskies didn’t beat a team with a winning record in 2009. In fact, NIU’s seven wins came against teams with a combined 17-66 record, a winning percentage of 20.5 percent.

The Huskies’ five losses were against programs that went 41-21, a winning percentage of 66.1 percent.

Compare these numbers to previous years, and you’ll see why the 2009 NIU squad does not belong in a bowl.

In 2004, NIU went 8-3 in the regular season .The Huskies’ opponents had a winning percentage of 44.8 percent. NIU’s eight wins came against teams with a winning percentage of 40 percent; its three losses were against programs with a winning percentage of 57.1 percent.

That season, NIU beat three teams with a winning record, including a 9-3 Bowling Green.

That team belonged in the postseason. The 2004 squad traveled to the Silicon Valley Bowl ,defeating Troy 34-21 .

Obviously, this year’s team cannot compare to the 2004 squad. A fairer comparison can be drawn to the 7-5 NIU team that went to the 2006 Poinsettia Bowl .

In 2006, NIU’s opponents had a winning percentage of 41.9 percent. The Huskies’ seven victories came against teams with a winning percentage of 25.9 percent. The five Huskies’ losses came to teams with a winning percentage of 63.5 percent.

These numbers are eerily similar to, but slightly better than, the 2009 NIU team. One large difference, however, is that the Huskies had a victory over a team with a winning record; an 8-4 Central Michigan squad in 2006.

This team sold itself to a bowl for two reasons: to make up for the shortcomings of the bowl system that left the 10-2 2003 Huskies out of the postseason and to highlight the nation’s leading rusher Garrett Wolfe .The result of this team in the postseason: a 37-7 loss to TCU .

But in 2009, as in 2006, NIU made the right call. When asked to go to a bowl, a mid-major must say yes.

Any system that allows 56.7 percent of teams into the postseason against teams that have not won a game against a quality opponent with a winning record, with games that draws little attention to no attention from crowds and forces programs to lose money, is a failed system.

NIU did what it had to do. If it said no to a bowl game, it's unlikely the Huskies would ever get asked again to participate. So NIU took advantage of a system that rewards mediocrity. The only question remaining is, what does going to a bowl game even mean anymore?

When the 2009 season began, the Northern Illinois Huskies were projected to finish third in the Mid-American West behind Western and Central Michigan.

Now 10 games into the season, the Huskies (7-3, 5-1 MAC) will be no worse than the No. 2 team in the MAC West. With a win Saturday over Ohio in Athens, NIU will head into its game at Central Michigan with a trip to Detroit hanging in the balance.

The Huskies did what they needed to do these past four games with wins over Miami (OH), Akron, Eastern Michigan and Ball State. Those teams entered the Huskies' four-game stretch with a 1-25 record and enter this next week 4-37. Any losses would have been devastating for a MAC team fighting for a bowl.

But masked in the impressive season NIU is putting up is the disappointing one Western Michigan has. The Broncos have struggled on defense and on the offensive line. Star quarterback Tim Hiller hasn't had nearly the time to throw that was evident against NIU. Their record (5-6, 4-3) lingers as shocking.

NIU has waded through an injury to quarterback Chandler Harnish. How? With the run game that starred in the three games Harnish did not play, but struggled some against Ball State.

Redshirt junior Chad Spann has been, without doubt, the Huskies' Most Valuable Player. He has 16 rushing touchdowns, tied for fourth in the nation, and has 17 total scores. He also has 830 yards and will look to become the first Huskie under Jerry Kill to rush for 1,000 yards.

The Huskies will have their hands full with Ohio (7-3, 5-1) before heading to Central Michigan (8-2, 6-0) and All-World quarterback Dan LeFevour. The win over Ball State has all but clinched a bowl game for the second straight season. A win over Ohio makes NIU the No. 3 team in the entire MAC.

A win over Ohio sets up a MAC West title battle with CMU for a chance at NIU's first conference title since 1983. That season, Bill Mallory led the Huskies to the California Bowl. NIU's last appearance in Detroit was in 2005 when they were upset by Akron on a last-second Hail Mary to Domenik Hixon.

History is in the hands of the Huskies. They control their own fate. It would not be a good time to have a lapse and put the MAC title out of reach before getting a shot at LeFevour.

I've been preaching this in my columns all season long: To win the Huskies have to play their game.

And that game, the NIU game, is on the ground, running the football.

While many of us leftover Joe Novak Era guys remember the glory days of Michael Turner or Garrett Wolfe, the offense has progressed under Jerry Kill to a certain extent. I'll take Chandler Harnish under center over Phil Horvath and Dan Nicholson any day.

Kill has converted the Huskie offense to more of a spread offense. However, this isn't the West Coast Offense. Against Toledo NIU found success with Me'co Brown (22 carries for 96 yards), but touchdown machine Chad Spann found only six carries for 28 yards (4.7 ypc). Harnish ran the ball nine times for 42 yards with two touchdowns, Brown adding the other score.

The Huskies have had such a success this season hammering home the "bolt" and "jolt" combination of Brown and Spann this season. Why stop now?

Against Western Michigan on Homecoming, Spann had 22 carries for 132 yards and three scores. Brown had 15 for 92 yards. Harnish threw only 15 times, he had 24 tosses against Toledo, resulting in one interception, 15 completions, and 157 yards.

With the run game going on all cylinders there is no reason for Harnish to throw over 20 times. Add up the total plays run and he was put in charge 33 times. While Harnish is an excellent upcoming quarterback, Brown and Spann have proven to be the playmakers in 2009. They combined for just 29 touches (28 rushes, one reception) against Toledo.

When the Huskies hit Oxford and Miami-OH this weekend, that run game needs to harken back to its three wins. When NIU's running duo gets more looks than Harnish the Huskies are 3-0. When Harnish gets more looks, they are 0-3. One argument could be that NIU was down by large margins but have lost all three games by 12 combined points.

To better illustrate my argument, here's a nice table. It shows the number of carries, yards and touchdowns a game for Brown and Spann, along with the number of total touches, total yards and total scores for Harnish.

The NIU run-pass comparison chart can be found here.

You can see in the Wisconsin loss Harnish had 37 touches, while Brown and Spann combined for 20. In the Idaho loss it was Harnish 36, Spann and Brown 16. Finally against Toledo Harnish had 33 plays to the duo's 28. On the other hand the duo had a 22-20 play advantage against Western Illinois, 44-37 against Purdue and 37-21 against Western Michigan—all wins.

The stats are right there in front of you. If the Huskies want to win games and have a shot for the MAC title, make the other team stop your bread and butter. Which is and always has been the run game. No offense to Harnish, but this team goes as the run game goes. He's just the compliment.

So let's bring that run game from both Westerns and Purdue to Oxford and see if the winless RedHawks have an answer for it.

No more excuses. It's time to play football now.

Here comes the most crucial stretch of football for the Northern Illinois Huskies. At a point in the season when NIU could have been looking at a 4-2 record, it's currently at 3-3.

The next four games for the Huskies will tell us how this season will end: A trip to Oxford, Ohio, this weekend, followed by three home games versus Akron, Eastern Michigan, and Ball State.

Combined record of those four opponents: 1-25.

If the Huskies don't come away with four wins here, kiss an at-large bowl bid goodbye. There is no way a 6-6 Mid-American Conference team with one or more losses to some of the worst teams in the NCAA will get lucky like last year.

Adding to that, NIU travels to Ohio 5-2 (3-0, MAC) and Central Michigan (6-1, 4-0) to wrap up the season. With only one conference loss to date, it is plausible that the Huskies could by vying for trip to Detroit if they win these next four and hit the road strong against the top two MAC teams at the end.

After hammering preseason MAC West No. 2 Western Michigan 38-3, it was wondered aloud if the Broncos were overrated. WMU responded by pounding Toledo 58-26 while the Huskies floundered another game in the Glass Bowl.

They haven't beat the Rockets in Toledo since 2005, led by Garrett Wolfe. Their last win prior to that was 33 years earlier in 1972.

That's been the story of NIU football's recent history. It drops the ball on great opportunities. With the way this year's schedule lined up, the Huskies had legitimate chance of heading into the Central Michigan game 9-2, also undefeated in the MAC, possibly playing for that trip to Detroit.

But the bright lights, bad play-calling, and mediocre coaching got the best of NIU. Instead, it has no room for error this season. No more Idaho games, no more Toledo games. No more coming off a big win and looking unprepared, outplayed, and just clueless.

I'll give this to Joe Novak's teams: They were never outplayed, even during a 2-10 season in 2007.

It may be time for Jerry Kill to wake up and realize this is FBS Football, not Division I-AA. There is no playoff. Every game matters more than the last.

It's time to shut up and play. Time to stop losing games that you should be winning.

It's time to focus on this game, not the last game.

Because if these Huskies don't, that 1-25 record is going to start looking a little better.

[Photo courtesy of NIU Media Relations]

Some games define teams and the future of a program.

Take Boise State. After beating Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, the Broncos were a legitimate BCS buster.

On the other hand, take Ohio State. After losing in the National Championship game to Florida that same year, the Buckeyes have struggled against top-ranked opponents.

For Northern Illinois, it has been a while since a defining victory, and certainly a solid 28-21 win over Purdue, in Lafayette, qualifies. It was the first win over a Big Ten opponent since 1988, pushing the Huskies' record against the conference to 2-32-1. It's their first win over a BCS conference team since a 24-16 victory over Iowa State in 2003.

But how defining of a victory is this just three games into the 2009 season?

In 2003 the Huskies took down the Cyclones, No. 21 Alabama, and No. 15 Maryland. They finished 10-2 with losses to No. 23 Bowling Green and Toledo.

Without finishing the season strong, this Huskies team dilutes all meaning from this game aside from another win next to the lopsided loss column against the Big Ten.

NIU needs to stay focused on the fact that there are nine games to go. It can't settle. Actually, it's time to get humble. Like Central Michigan, the Huskies now have a target painted on their backs. The Mid-American Conference will be gunning for them, and it will be more important than in the past to not overlook opponents.

It starts this weekend versus perennial whipping boy Idaho.

Going 10-2 might be asking a lot, but certainly the expectations have risen. The predicted 7-5 team, third in the MAC West, will now be held to higher standards, and it will up to them and only them to meet those.

Teams in the MAC have a bad habit of losing games to each other. Potential BCS buster Ball State lost in the MAC title game to Buffalo last season. Central Michigan has clearly been the class of the conference for years but also tends to fall off the tracks here and there.

So what is fair to expect from NIU now?

Certainly a 7-5 season after this win cannot be considered a complete success, though it will be one game better than 2008. Tough games with Toledo, Western Michigan, and Central Michigan lie ahead.

I predicted a 20-13 NIU win over Purdue in the preseason and still handed out a 7-5 record. Why? Purdue is far from the class of the Big Ten, and the Big Ten is far from the class of the BCS. But now, even my expectations have risen to a 9-3 or 8-4 season.

Beating Purdue won't be a program-defining victory as those in 2003, but it will certainly have the chance to be a win that defines this 2009 team and its place in the MAC.

Buyer beware though—it's only Week Four. A lot of football is left to be played.

Overview: The MAC had a tough go around in Week 1, going 3-10 overall and 0-4 versus the Big Ten. Winners were Buffalo, Bowling Green and Kent State; all MAC East teams. The three wins were not terribly impressive, however, it was good to see teams like Temple and Ohio in competitive games, especially Ohio versus Connecticut. Wisconsin beat themselves more in the second half than NIU did, but a 28-20 loss still looks good for the conference.

The High Point: Bowling Green trouncing Troy 31-14. Troy is a tough opponent traditionally and usually makes bowl games with no problem. The game was close, 14-14 heading into the fourth quarter, until the Falcons tacked on 17 points. One of the potential stud MAC quarterbacks Tyler Sheehan was 32-for-44 passing for 339 yards and two scores. He did throw one pick. Freddie Barnes grabbed 15 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Willie Geter posted 49 yards on nine carries. Great win for BGSU to start of their season.

The Low Point: Ball State losing to North Texas 20-10. For this, let's compare last year's records: Ball State was 12-2, North Texas, 1-11. Redshirt freshman Kelly Page was as advertised when he ran with the ball (7-53) but was 15-for-34 throwing for just 140 yards, no scores and one interception. MiQuale Lewis carried the ball 15 times for 103 yards and a touchdown. The defense was the biggest letdown, as it allowed 296 rushing yards and 216 passing yards (Ball State had 169 and 140 respectively). The Cardinals really missed their opportunities. North Texas had nine penalties for 81 yards compared to 4-30. Turnovers were even but NT held the ball for over 37 minutes.

By The Numbers: 30. That's how many points were put up by the top four of the top five offenses in the MAC this week. Central Michigan scored six against Arizona, Western Michigan scored seven on Michigan, Ball State scored 10 and Akron scored seven on Penn State. I didn't have high scoring thoughts for the Zips but thought Ball State would roll, the Chips to score at 20 (lost 19-6) and Tim Hiller to get in a shootout in Ann Arbor. Hiller has the best excuse, his team has no defense so he was throwing a lot (38 times). He also apparently doesn't have an offensive line to stop Brandon Graham.

Biggest Hole To Fill: Northern Illinois had the top-ranked MAC defense last year and second most improved defense next to Navy in 2008. What helped the Huskies do that was a consistent pass rush of either Larry English, or the guy benefiting from the double teaming of Larry English. Against Wisconsin, the Huskies had no pass rush. In this case, hardly any of a pass defense. I thought I'd be more worried about Dan LeFevour's mediocre 18-for-31, 108 but once he hits MAC play he'll be back in form. NIU needs to address this quickly especially with Purdue (52 points against Toledo), Tim Hiller and Toledo's passing attack on the horizon before the mid-point of the season.

Making A Statement: The MAC East showed up to play. Temple lost via last second field goal to Villanova, Bowling Green won decisively, Kent State shutout Coastal Carolina (as they should have), Buffalo won, Ohio played close and Akron faced a title contender, so we'll let them off. The West faced tougher opponents but will be marred by Miami-OH's 42-0 loss to Kentucky, Ball State's shame, a lack of offense from its stud quarterbacks and a disappointing debut for Ron English. The West should be thankful Wisconsin broke down, as that game was on its way to ugly after a 28-6 score after three quarters.

This Week: Things don't look too much better in Week Two. It starts with a favorable matchup for Toledo against Colorado at the Glass Bowl. They have a chance to win. NIU should rout Western Illinois. Eastern Michigan draws Northwestern, Central takes on Michigan State, Western heads to Indiana and Akron duels with Morgan State, which might be comparable to a high school team after seeing Penn State. Ball State has New Hampshire and Ohio draws North Texas in two games with huge question marks after they was BSU and NT played last week. Now it gets ugly: Buffalo draws Pittsburgh but are at home so they can prove something here. Kent State travels to Boston College. Bowling Green takes on No. 25 Missouri who routed Illinois. Finally, Miami (Ohio) travels to No. 12 Boise State on the Smurf Turf.

Prediction Time: Toledo falls to Colorado; NIU wins big; EMU falls; Central loses again, Western beat Indiana; Akron rolls; Ball State wins; Ohio wins; Buffalo loses; Kent State loses pretty bad; Bowling Green runs out of gas and falls hard; and Miami take a whipping.

Week's Record: 5-7